


Gravity

by Chaiyo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27057100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaiyo/pseuds/Chaiyo
Summary: Three years after the fall of Voldemort, Hermione uproots her rocketing career in Magical Law Enforcement to begin an Arithmancy apprenticeship at ETH Zurich. On her first day, she learns that Draco Malfoy is also starting his first day as a Potion's apprentice in the neighboring lab down the hall. While a  friendly Malfoy is shocking enough, it is his Potion's Master who holds more surprises.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley
Kudos: 27





	Gravity

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in a world where two facts diverge from canon: 1) Snape survives and 2) Ron and Hermione are not endgame. Besides that, everything else is up for speculation, though I cannot guarantee these changes will not affect anything else canon further down the line.  
> My goal is to keep these characters as true to their form in the book while accounting for any character growth that comes from living in a peaceful society three years post-Voldemort.

Hermione fidgeted in the hallway as she waited for her new mentor to arrive. She was appropriately fifteen minutes early for her first day as an apprentice under Master Robert Stern. This also meant she was left alone to her thoughts for fifteen very long minutes. Before the sun shined, she had gone for a quick jog around a small perimeter of Lake Zurich to sweat away some nerves. The crisp water and sharp mountains complemented vibrant colors of June while swatting away most of her anxiety. Her mood only improved further after interacting with the city’s friendly inhabitants she passed on her jog and when she purchased coffee from the boutique cafe around the corner from her flat. 

The three hours derived from the wonders of living in a new city made Hermione feel like an empowered young adult with a fresh future in front of her. No more suggestive comments from the Daily Prophet on her, apparently blatant, ambitions to become Minister of Magic and her, apparently obvious, manipulations to climb the ranks in Magical Law Enforcement so quickly. Did they already forget, she was a Gryffindor? Gone were Witch Weekly’s speculations on what beau would best pair with the Golden Girl after her amicable and undramatic split from Ron. Vanquished were the fake friends that came with fame. She could just be Hermione.

And apparently Hermione only needed 30 seconds alone with her thoughts to descend into a state of nervous constipation. 

Feeling it best not to be bundle of barely contained energy for a first meeting, Hermione began to pace up and down the hallway. The door to Master Stern’s laboratory was locked. As he had only just been recruited to ETH Zurich two weeks prior, Hermione had the honor of being his first protege. It was an exciting and unique experience, in that she would get to help Master Stern establish the laboratory culture and rules. This also meant that, until she was given clearance later today, only Master Stern could allow her entrance. 

“Fancy seeing you here, Granger,” a painstakingly familiar voice drawled. 

Hermione spun around to see Draco Malfoy slowly making his way towards her. Naturally, he was dressed in the finest clothes that fit his thin frame in just the correct way. She was woman enough to admit, he had an alluring sense of style. Though he seemed to be wearing solely muggle clothing today opposed to his elegant robes. Curious. 

“Malfoy,” she greeted tersely. 

Ignoring the antagonism reserved for mortal enemies, Malfoy pointedly looked over her shoulder before he looked her up and down. He nodded, as if she was asking for his approval on wardrobe choices. “Are you here for the potions apprenticeship too?”

“What?” 

Malfoy pointed his chin to over her shoulder. “I presume this is your first day as well. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for you to just be dawdling around out here. You would never waste time like that. There’s no need to be nervous. I assure you Master…”

“What would you, of all people, need a potion’s mastery for?” Hermione cut in before she could stop herself. She was still having trouble processing that bit of information to focus on the rest of his statement. 

Draco smiled gently. It was a strange look, as though it did not belong on his naturally cold face. “What else would you have me do?”

Hermione paused and took a moment to scrutinize her childhood bully casually butting into her fresh start. After the fall of Voldemort three years ago, the Malfoy family seemed to have a shift in priorities. Lucius Malfoy had left his coveted position in the Ministry in favor of traveling the world with Narcissa. While Hermione personally thought it was to escape the glares and nasty gossip that was dying down slower than expected, his public statement claimed they wished to experience the full flavors of both Wizarding and Muggle cultures around the world, as their previous close-mindedness had led them to follow a murderous psychopath. Unlike Hermione, the Malfoy heir had opted to take his N.E.W.T.s instead of returning to redo his seventh year under competent professors. Not much had been heard from him since. At least, not from the Daily Prophet. Witch Weekly still maintained he was in “The Top 10 Most Desirable Bachelors.”

“I suppose I thought you would be following your Father’s footsteps into the Ministry,” Hermione hesitantly bit back. 

Malfoy chuckled. “Yes, that is expected of me. My plan is still to work in the Ministry, actually. Just not in the immediate future.”

“Then why potions? I don’t see you as Unspeakable Material.”

“You think I don’t have what it takes to be an Unspeakable?” Malfoy leaned forward into her personal space. “You’re probably right. No way to really gain influence where it matters. However, I do need to rebrand myself. And there hasn’t been a Potion’s Master in the Malfoy family in ages. Fidelity is important. My Father may have crumbled that quality, but I still have the chance to set things straight. ”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “And being a Potion’s Master will gain confidence from the people?”

“I suppose it won’t help that much. What will restore my standing is the person I’m training under. He is rather popular now.”

Before Hermione had a chance to jump down that rabbit hole, hurried footsteps brought a young man with short, messy brown hair towards them. Hermione could feel the air gently tickle her face as he abruptly braked in front of them. He seemed to be only a hair taller than Hermione. 

“Hermione?” He smiled, sticking out his hand. “Was trying to get here early so I wouldn’t keep you waiting. Have a bit of a habit of being late, you see.”

Clumsily grabbing his blocky hands, Hermione responded, “Master Stern, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Oh please, no formalities. I only allowed that once for your interview. Now that we have to put up with each other everyday…Morgana strike me down now! Might be a bit difficult to shed for you English, but I really would die from the stiffness of it all. Just call me Rob!” Rob laughed. He looked towards Malfoy and offered his hand. “A fellow lab neighbor? A new friend?”

It was admirable that Malfoy did not stick his narrow pureblood nose in disgust and enthusiastically shook Rob’s hand. “Fellow lab neighbor and old friend actually.”

Hermione shot Malfoy a piercing glare that didn’t quite serve its purpose; Malfoy was neither backing down nor dying a painful death from her imaginary lasers. If anything, his smile grew brighter.

Rob physically straightened in joy, oblivious to the exchange between the pair. 

“Oh how wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!” Rob cheered. “That’s such a wonderful coincidence, isn’t it Hermione? You said you wouldn’t know anybody from the U.K. I can only imagine the joy you must have had earlier finding out you’ve got a friend, and an old one at that, right down this very hall! You’ll be able to interact everyday! You could even grab meals together. Tell me, Hermione’s friend, do you have a name? Any pointers for getting settled in here at ETH? I’m afraid I’m still rather new myself.”

“Draco Malfoy, sir,” Malfoy slowly answered. He paused a moment, to assess Rob’s reaction, but Rob’s blank face clearly meant he knew nothing of the Malfoy family or the negative connotation saddled with it. Satisfied, he continued on. “Today is actually my first day as well. Only just arrived last night you see…”

“By portkey, I presume?” Rob asked. Malfoy nodded. “Must be nice to be a portkey away from home. Albeit registration can be a bit of a pain, but still, no need to rely on muggle transport. Can probably tell from my accent, but I’m from the U.S and I’ve still got to take a plane over here. Muggles have really advanced over the years.”

“Quiet. I actually prefer travel by plane over portkey. I love the skies you see,” Malfoy trailed off while Hermione could only stare. 

“Ahhh, we got ourselves a flyer! If you’ve brought your broom, we should grab some sky time together. The mountains are a true joy to fly through. All you need is a good Muggle repelling charm,” Rob jovially clapped Malfoy’s back. “Well, pleasure to meet you Draco. I wouldn’t want to make your own Master wait on you because I can’t shut my mouth. Very intimidating that one. Or maybe he’s just shy… Hermione, I’ll just go and get settled in my office, while you and Draco finish any conversation I’ve interrupted. Then we can discuss some expectations and ideas you’ve got!”

Rob jogged down the hall to open his laboratory door, leaving Hermione regrettably stuck with Malfoy again. 

“Well, Granger, you’ve sure got yourself a friendly superior,” Malfoy commented. He turned and slowly strolled past Hermione before stopping. “As your and only friend in Zurich, it is only proper that I extend an invitation for some dinner this Friday night. I know a wonderful place that overlooks the Lake and has an outstanding wine selection. I assume even you consume alcoholic beverages?”

“What are you talking about, Malfoy?”

“A miserable stab, I admit. Let’s get reacquainted, Granger. If there is one Gryffindor who has any hopes of exercising some patience, it’s got to be you. We can meet in front of the main building at 5 PM and then leave together. Let me know if that doesn’t work,” he flippantly replied before continuing walking.

Hermione shook her head to make sure she was awake. “Malfoy, I can’t…”

“It’s Draco!” He called back and disappeared into the potion’s laboratory. 

—————H—————

Later that evening, Hermione snuggled into the thick cushions of her sofa and re-adjusted the phone on her ear. Crooks lay fast asleep on her lap. Her first day had progressed smoothly, if not a little slowly. Rob was quite a profuse speaker, who somehow managed to seamlessly mix in personal stories to every technical aspect of discussion. Hermione found herself not disliking this lack of focus as much as she expected, given that Rob had promptly blocked off Quidditch discussion when Hermione said she was a terrible flyer. Preoccupied with reading, Hermione accidentally found herself the last to leave the floor that night. While that meant no more strange encounters with Malfoy, he still merrily sat in Hermione’s train of thoughts. 

“A friendly Malfoy, is a scheming Malfoy,” Harry’s voice sounded over the telephone.

She hoped talking it over with Harry and Ron would help. 

“Yeah, the spoiled ferret is probably trying to get you to complete his apprenticeship work for him,” Ron’s voice followed. “Even the bigot knows you’re smarter than him.”

Hermione sighed, “That doesn’t make any sense, Ronald. An apprenticeship isn’t like school. We’re not graded on assignments or exams. We’re judged in person based on the long hours spent with our mentor and if we can publish into a journal that is peer-reviewed by other knowledgable minds in the field….” She paused, sensing herself loosing the boys’ attentions. “Besides, I don’t think he had any malicious intentions. At least from that one encounter…it was just odd. He’s never been nice to me before”

“Hermione,” Ron started slowly, “Malfoy is married to evil. The whole lot of them! Even if they do perform an occasional “act of light”, it isn’t really because it always benefits them. Their kindness only comes as a set with manipulation. Whatever he’s got planned, I say you don’t do it. And that obviously includes standing him up on this nightmare dinner date.”

“Thank you for your words of wisdom, Ron. I never would have figured it out myself,” Hermione deadpanned. 

“Anytime,” Ron chirped. “I am the brightest wizard of my year.” 

A soft thud was heard over the phone before it was presumably relinquished back to Harry. 

“Ignore him,” Harry protested, “If you don’t dine with the git, we won’t have even have a clue what he’s up to.”

“Mate, he’s going to try and redirect us at that dinner!” Hermione heard Ron yell in the background. Hermione heard some mumbled bickering on the other side and felt her eyes narrow as it stretched out to a minute. The longer this call went on, the more she was reminded of why she decided it was time to move out of Grimmauld Place so they could learn to expand their horizons. 

“I didn’t realize we were all going to this dinner together. Should I let Malfoy know to make a reservation for four instead of two?” Hermione grit out. 

“We just want you to know we’re in this with you, Hermione,” Harry placated. Hermione could imagine him rubbing the back of his head nervously. “We may be separated by a few countries and water, but we’ll always have your back.”

“Exactly what he said,” Ron cheered. “Wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. Who else is my Mum going to keep trying to hook me up with?”

Hermione groaned. “Still? What else do we have to do to make it clear to her that we’ve settled on just being friends. It was a mutual decision over a year ago that seemed well accepted by everyone within the week of the announcement. I daresay it got through Lavender’s thick skull rather quickly.”

“Molly is in denial,” Harry laughed. “I think she already had a dual wedding planned out for us. She keeps trying to delay my wedding rehearsal in hopes that you and Ron will become gooey eyed again. Ginny is just about ready to explode.”

“You’d better start readjusting your attitude towards Lavender, ‘Mione,” Ron added nervously. “I’m thinking about asking her to make it official next week.”

Hermione perked up at that statement. True, she and Ron had decided after two years of draining averageness in their relationship, that maybe they weren’t the right fit. They were just a set of best friends who thought attraction could power a relationship. While they didn’t have any nasty spats that led to alarming lows, they never really experienced the adrenaline rush that seemed to push other couples to real highs. In fact, the only reason they had much to talk about at all was because Harry was with them. And Harry definitely wasn’t interested in a threesome. But Ron’s declaration, and Harry’s upcoming marriage to Ginny, did make Hermione realize that she had not even tried at another relationship in the past year since becoming single. At least she wasn’t there to be a third wheel twice over. 

“I’m happy for you Ron.” Hermione replied. “But I’ll make no promises. I’m still recovering from having to share a room with her for six years.”

“Ron, maybe you should ask Hermione for some pointers on surviving shared living quarters with Lavender,” Harry sniggered. “While it’s still fresh.”

Ron sarcastically laughed and a soft thud could be heard over the line. “Well, the signs of you two teaming up is my queue to jump ship from this call,” Ron said. “I’ll be a bit busy over the week prepping for our field exercise. Did you know they’re hiding a bunch of veteran Aurors to go against us? It’s like they don’t know we just vanquished a Dark Lord.”

“Yes, Ron. You and Harry have only mentioned it a hundred times before you let me even speak,” Hermione pointed out. 

“Sorry!” The two chorused back. “We’ll let you get some rest in case you need to face-off Malfoy again tomorrow. Bye, Hermione!”

“And remember: when in doubt, stay away from the Slytherin!” Ron managed to get through before the line disconnected. 

—————H—————

It turned out, Hermione didn’t have to try very hard to avoid the blonde. On the second day, Rob introduced her to one of his colleagues from Canada on a different floor. It seemed that both were open to possibly co-mentoring her, which meant Hermione could also escape to that floor if needed. 

Many prayers of thanks were also sent to whichever God would accept it. Malfoy obviously could not take lunch in his potions laboratory, so he was forced to take lunch in the break room down the hall. However, numbers have never poisoned anybody, so Hermione could eat in her laboratory. This happy fact meant there was no need to risk seeing Malfoy during lunch hours if she just simply stayed put at her desk. It was also helpful that the women’s lavatory was situated just outside the entrance to her laboratory, so even when she did venture out, it would be very difficult to catch her. 

When she wasn’t in the laboratory trying to setup a thesis topic, she sat in on some Muggle lectures offered at ETH Zurich. It was one of the reasons she chose the school. They had a deal with the Muggle side of ETH Zurich that allowed wizards and witches to enroll in their Muggle courses. If they completed a small set of requirements, they could also obtain a Muggle degree. The institution’s progressive goal was to slowly integrate magical and non-magical society by acclimating the magical to the non-magical. 

It was definitely nice to be able to tell her relatives that she was studying philosophy at the same institution Albert Einstein learned and taught at. Currently, she was enrolled in three introductory courses: Introduction to Philosophy, History of Ancient Philosophy, and Calculus. She even managed to make a few acquaintances. Though she wasn’t sure any would really pass over the barrier into friendship-land. While they didn’t notice she was a bit older than them, she definitely felt it.

It was currently 3:14 PM on Friday. Perhaps she had begun overthinking her Malfoy situation, or she had been juggling too many intense topics at once. Maybe it was her nervousness with meeting with Rob at 4 to go over some rough ideas. Or maybe it was the fact that she still hadn’t gone and seen a Muggle doctor for a prescription on these migraines that had begun popping up since a certain someone mistook her forearm as a cross between a blank canvas and cutting board. 

Regardless, this upcoming migraine was setting up to be a mean bitch. 

Hermione slowly lay her head on the table, away from the sharp rays of light filtering from the window beside her. She must have been there for quite sometime before she felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder. 

“Hermione, are you alright?” Rob’s voice ricocheted into her brain. 

She tried to falsely assure him that she would be ok later. That she could now count herself among a common migraine sufferer Instead she heard some garbled words come out. So settled on pointing to her head. 

Rob seemed to understand, because a moment later, she heard the blinds of the window shift and the room felt a bit cooler. 

“Don’t worry about our meeting now, we can postpone that for when you’re feeling more alive,” Rob whispered. “Is there anybody I can call to help get you home? I would do it myself, but I’ve got a faculty dinner I need to attend at six. And it doesn’t look like apparition will do your head any good.” 

Hermione shook her head. “I just need some sleep,” she managed. “Then I’ll be fine.”

“Well there isn’t really a good place to rest here, is there?” Rob muttered. “Maybe we can get a sofa in here. Would be good for reading too.”

Hermione dumbly nodded and stubbornly tried to ignore the invisible knife cutting into her head. Moments must have passed again, because this time she heard two sets of feet walking towards her. A nurse perhaps? She vaguely heard some soft whispers before one of them disappeared. A finger tapped her shoulder. 

“Hermione, I’ve gotten you some medicine. Or more like a potion. It should get you into a state of sleep so you can at least ride out the worst of it. If you can sit up and drink it, you should be out in a few I was told,” Rob explained, trying to nudge her into a sitting position. 

When Hermione finally resurfaced to the living, she felt like the contents of her stomach may make a surprise appearance. With sheer stubbornness, she held it down and grabbed the small vial in front of her and downed it. Before she could even comprehend how it disgusting it was, water was shoved into her hand and another hand guided it towards her mouth. 

“Funny how we’ve got potions that can disguise you as another person and potions that can force the truth even you may not know right out of you, but no wizard has managed to create a treatment for migraines or delicious potions,” Rob commented as he took the empty glass out of her hand. He guided her head back to the comfort of the cool desk. 

“It’s currently 6:05. I’m still new faculty, so I can only be so late, but I’ve got our Potion’s Master in the neighboring lab to watch you until you feel better. I couldn’t find your friend…Draco. Seemed he clocked out a bit early given it’s Friday and all that, but his mentor didn’t seem too against watching you. I’ve left a number for you to call, so you can let me know how things are later tonight or this weekend,” Rob said. “I hope your weekend only gets better from here. See you Monday!”

With a reaffirming pat on the shoulder, Rob disappeared. The last thing Hermione remembered was the sound of the laboratory door closing behind Rob. 

—————H—————

When Hermione opened her eyes, she found herself laying on a mattress on the floor of a dark room. As her eyes adjusted, she realized it must have been a guest bedroom, but the person was either in the process of moving in or out. A look to the window indicated it was well into the evening. But where was she? 

No. 

Location could wait. 

She desperately needed to pee. 

Slowly shifting into a sitting position, Hermione found that she had slept off most of the pain, but her vision was still a bit wonky. She gingerly heaved herself up and, with a little more assistance from the wall than she desired, trudged towards what looked like the door. Gods, she hoped she didn’t mistake it for a cupboard. 

Thankfully, it was a door. Opening it had also allowed a heavenly smell of something edible to accost her olfactory nerves. Closing her eyes, she ordered her stomach to halt and stay calm. While the aroma was heavenly, it might have been a bit too colorful for her just yet. No matter, she could deal with this in the bathroom once she found it. Not daring to open her eyes in fear it would incite more dizziness, she felt her way down the dark hallway toward what she thought was a bathroom before colliding with something soft and hard at the same time. 

“Miss Granger, out of bed already?” A very familiar voice sounded above her. 

Again mysteries could sod off until she found an appropriate location to pee. 

Even if she was potentially kidnapped by a murderer. 

“Loo,” she muttered towards her stranger. Was it Malfoy? Rob? How had she left campus? 

“It appears even with a migraine, your know-it-all brain has figured out the correct direction of my toilet,” the deep voice sighed. “Let’s get you there and then back to bed. It seems I won’t be able to rid you before tomorrow after all.”

After her blind adventure to the loo, Hermione was politely guided to back to her mattress on the floor, where a heavy blanket was gently laid on top of her. It smelled familiar too. Like something from her time at Hogwarts. But it was also layered with something, for a lack of better term, more homey. 

She heard the light switch go off, indicating she was in a Muggle flat. Before her mysterious caretaker could disappear, Hermione groaned, “Wait.”

“Yes, Miss Granger.”

“Where am I?” Hermione demanded, and tried to sit up to get a better look at the stranger. With the lights off, he was just an ominous shadow hanging over her like a bat. 

“My flat, Miss Granger,” He replied. “But knowing you, that answer will not satisfy you. I assure you, we are still in Zurich. In fact, we are only a five minute walk away from campus.”

“And how did I get here?” Hermione demanded. 

“A cab,” mystery stranger intoned. Hermione realized she liked the sound of his voice. Deep timbre. Only a few words out of him, and she felt her entering a dreamlike state. Not that the threshold was especially difficult to cross at the moment. 

“I have also taken the liberty of phoning your obnoxious employer that you are safe and sound for the evening. Sleep so you can recover and leave tomorrow morning.”

Hermione wanted to comment more, but her body protested talking any longer. All she managed was a “hmm.” In exchange, no more words were spoken and the stranger excused himself out of the room. As the door shut, she could hear sarcastic muttering from her newly christened caretaker. Among those garbled words, she swore she made out “bloody Gryffindor” before succumbing to sleep again.


End file.
